Child safety seat life-saver for Gaylord baby

February 10, 2003|By Michael Jones

GAYLORD - When Melissa Musgrave, 21, of Gaylord, was involved in a two-vehicle crash a year ago January, the car she was driving was so badly damaged Otsego County EMS/Rescue crews had to use the Jaws of Life to remove the roof of the vehicle to free D. J. Musgrave, her younger brother, who was in the back seat of the vehicle.

Another passenger, much smaller than Musgrave's brother, was her 3-month-old daughter Hailey, who was also in the back seat. Fortunately for Hailey, Musgrave had had her daughter securely restrained in a child safety seat. Remarkably, she was not injured in the crash.

"She didn't have a scratch on her," recalls Musgrave, who along with her brother, was treated for injuries at Otsego Memorial Hospital that wintry January night. "One of the workers who was at the accident said they were glad to see I had Hailey properly restrained. Later, at the hospital, they said if she hadn't been in her car seat she would have been seriously injured. The car was totaled."

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Musgrave said she has always used a child safety seat for Hailey and wouldn't think of driving anywhere without her daughter properly restrained. "She wouldn't be sitting here with me now if she wasn't in her car seat," said Musgrave as she held her now 16-month-old daughter, who was busy eating a cracker and smiling and laughing whenever anyone talked to her.

Not every child involved in a car crash is as lucky as Hailey though. According to Bert Notestine, health educator with the Northwest Michigan Community Health Agency, the leading cause of accidental death for children 15 years of age and younger is from motor vehicle crashes.

Statistics from the Michigan Dept. of Community Health for 2001 revealed 90 children, ages 0-15 died and 9,830 were injured in Michigan traffic crashes. The week of Feb. 9-15 has been designated National Child Passenger Safety Week.

In an effort to decrease the number of injuries to children in Northern Michigan Notestine said the health department will be holding a free car seat checkup on Saturday, March 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Petoskey Public Safety Lake Street Station. The clinic is sponsored by the Northwest Michigan "Safe Kids" Chapter.

Notestine said plans are in the works to hold a similar clinic in Gaylord sometime in the early summer. "Previous safety checks have shown that four out of five child safety seats are used incorrectly," noted Notestine. "We have also found that 80 to 90 percent of the seats have something wrong with them. This is a good opportunity for parents to make sure their child's safety seat is safe to use and learn how to use it correctly."

A child safety seat inspection takes about a half-hour to complete. Seats will be inspected on a first-come, first served basis at the March 1 clinic. Notestine said parents should have their children present at the clinic in order to complete a thorough inspection of the safety seat.

Area residents who are unable to attend the Petoskey clinic but who may have a concern about the safety of their child's car seat may call Trooper Michael Saldana at the Michigan State Police Gaylord post, 732-6650.

Keep your child safe

The Michigan Department of Community Health has these suggestions to make sure your child is riding safely.

* Never place a rear-facing infant in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger air bag (unless you have a manual cut-off switch and you have it turned off). The back seat is the safest place for kids of any age.

* Send in the car seat registration card to be notified in case your car seat is recalled.

* Replace any car seat that has been involved in a crash.

* Route the safety belt correctly through the car seat.

* Correctly buckle the car seat into the vehicle.

* Get a tight fit - the seat should not move more than one inch from side to side or toward the front of the vehicle.

* Check your vehicle's owner's manual to see if you need a locking clip. Not all safety belts will secure your car seat without it.